Building a Nursing Community in Community-Based Care
History of Community-Based Care Nursing in Oregon
Several organizations and governing bodies exist to protect, represent, advocate for, or listen to the needs of those in community-based care settings, like residents or CBC facility managers and owners.
Yet, no such group exists exclusively for nurses in community-based care settings.
That is, until relatively recently in CBC’s history.
In the absence of a space bringing together community-based care nurses, the Community Based Care Nurses Association, later called the Community Nurse Network, was formed in 2004.
Ileana Ivan, a registered nurse and owner of an adult foster home, joined the Community Nurse Network as one of its original members. “I was invited to become a member of the Board of Directors for the Community Nurse Network back in 2007 by Cynthia McDaniel, who was my nursing instructor in the RN-BS program at Oregon Health Science University,” she recounts.
Though it did not come to fruition until 2004, the idea for the Community Nurses Network was conceived by a small group of CBC nurses who served on an Oregon State Board of Nursing Task Force reviewing rules for RN Delegation.
“These nurses believed that forming a professional nursing network organization would help resolve some of the problems they identified in community-based care settings,” Ileana shares.
The vision of the nurse network was all-encompassing: to provide expertise and mentoring for nurses transitioning into community-based care, to bring nurses together to learn from each other, and to use their specialty knowledge to build recommendations that influence policy. “This vision really resonated with me,” Ileana says. “I wanted to be part of a nursing community where I could meet fellow nurses and where I could learn from, and with, nurses who practiced in community settings who understood the challenges of working in isolation.”
“Along the way, I built friendships. I met wonderful nurses who are making a difference in people’s lives in the community and face the same challenges I face every day. I felt supported. Being part of the organization helped me become a better nurse and a better leader,” Ileana shares. “And the person who kept the impetus for the nurse network alive and was instrumental in its formation was Cynthia McDaniel.”
Cynthia McDaniel, the Community Nurse Network’s founder (and the founder of NurseLearn), knew that building a space specifically for CBC nurses was paramount to nurses’ success and to the success of the industry. “The Community Nurse Network had a profound impact on CBC nurses by providing a place for nurses to come together, engage in continuing education, and get support from each other,” comments Cynthia McDaniel.
Building a Space for Community-Based Care Nurses Today
Today, Cynthia has kept that dream of creating a collaborative space for CBC nurses alive.
As the founder of NurseLearn, an education and connection platform that provides CBC-specialized education and professional support to nurses, she knew she had to include a component that would foster a nurse community. Thus, CBC Nurse Connect was born.
CBC Nurse Connect is a built-in feature of NurseLearn’s Enhanced Program, an online mentored learning program for nurses. It enables nurses to:
- Create a dialogue with fellow CBC nurses across the state to discuss real challenges they are facing in their communities;
- Seek advice from peers and mentors; and
- Build a network of CBC nurse allies and friends for years to come.
Community spaces like this make a difference in the lives and practices of nurses like Ileana––nurses feeling isolated, nurses looking for guidance; nurses wanting to be a part of something bigger.
If you are interested in being a part of a community of CBC nurses, consider joining the CBC Nurse Connect network by applying to the Enhanced Program. In addition to accessing a community of CBC nurses, participants in the program also have access to mentorship from seasoned CBC nurses, online modules specializing in CBC topic areas, and live technical assistance sessions.
NurseLearn is now accepting applications for the next cohort of the Enhanced Program––apply now.